Inflatable floating island

ABSTRACT

An inflatable floating island suitable for use as a landing field for aircraft having a plurality of inflatable bags serving as floor beams and a plurality of panels positioned on top of said bags to serve as a landing surface. Adjacent panels are keyed together to have the panels work as one large panel. The inflatable bags are supported by long cylindrical flotation bags that are partially filled with water to provide a stable platform.

United States Patent [191 Schott et a1.

[ Nov. 13, 1973 INFLATABLE FLOATING ISLAND Inventors: Eugene A. Schott, Akron; Donald B.

Tschudy, Canton, both-of Ohio The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC.

Filed: Apr. 14, 1972 Appl. No.: 243,993

Assignee:

US. Cl 114/435, 9/3 P, 114/.5 F Int. Cl B63b 35/50 Field of Search 114/.5 F, 43.5;

9/11 A, 2 A, 8 P; 61/46.5; 14/27, 28; 52/2 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1972 Strauss 114/435 11/1948 Nelson et al 114/435 10/1964 Mayer .I 114/.5 F

3,137,307 6/1964 Scurlock 52/2 2,955,606 10/1960 Walker 52/2 1,511,153 10/1924 Armstrong.. 114/435 2,698,020 12/1954 Phane 52/2 Primary Examiner-George E. A. Halvosa Assistant Examiner-Galen L. Barefoot Att0rneyR. S. Sciascia et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT An inflatable floating island suitable for use as a landing field for aircraft having a plurality of inflatable bags serving as floor beams and a plurality of panels positioned on top of said bags to serve as a landing surface. Adjacent panels are keyed together to have the panels work as one large panel. The inflatable bags are supported by long cylindrical flotation bags that are partially filled with water to provide a stable platform.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEU NOV 1 3 I975 SHEET 10F 3 as 4 (34 m PATENTED NEW 1 3 I973 SHEET 2 BF 3 INFLATABLE FLOATING ISLAND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an inflatable floating island and more particularly to a floating island suitable for use as a landing field for aircraft.

Various floating devices are known for use as docks, wharfs, pontoons, rafts, and piers. Generally, these devices consist of a floating item on top of which a platform is attached and a plurality of these are hinged, or otherwise connected, together. One such device is shown in US. Pat. No. 2,453,155, entitled Floating Dock and Wharf, which issued Nov. 9, 1948, to Homer B. Nelson and Frank J. Walters. In this patented device, pontoons are secured together in a U-shaped configuration and a panel deck is provided for each pontoon. Adjacent units are hinged together to form a floating dock or wharf.

Another floating structure is shown in US. Pat. No. 3,152,568, entitled, Pier and Raft Construction, which issued Oct. 13, 1964, to Alex D. Mayer. In this invention, a plurality of blocks of buoyant material, such as cork or foam plastic, are encased between thin sheets of metal or plastic material and the ends are encased in a frame providing structure for interlocking the buoyant blocks into a floating raft.

In US. Pat. No. 2,742,012, entitled, Pontoons, which issued Apr. 17, 1956, to F. E. Bridges, there is shown a floating dock for marine aircraft. Each dock pontoon consists of a metal box having an inflatable bag therein. Adjoining units are secured together by bolts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a floating device which is suitable for use as a landing field for aircraft. A plurality of inflatable bags serve as floor beams and a plurality of decking panels are positioned on top of the flooor beams. Adjacent panels are keyed together to have the panels work as one large panel. The floor beams are supported by long cylindrical flotation bags that are mounted with their longiudinal axes in a vertical position. The cylindrical flotation bags are partially filled with water to provide a stable platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view showing an inflatable floating island beingused as an aircraft landing field;

FIG. 2 is a partial top view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2 and showing a key between adjacent floor panels;

FIG. 4 is a partial side view, partly broken away, of a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a partial top view showing a fastening arrangement for adjacent inflatable floor beams;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5, showing a fastening arrangement for adjacent inflatable floor beams;

FIG. 7 is a partial side view showing a fastening arrangement of a flotation column to a bearing plate; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 88 of FIG. 2, and showing a shear block between adjacent floor panels.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, a floating island 11 is shown suitable for providing a landing surface for an aircraft 12. The major components of island 11 consist of inflatable floor beams 13, deck panels 14, and flotation columns 15. As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 8 of the drawings, deck panels 14 are square and are preferably of a laminated design comprised of a balsa wood core 16 and metal skins 17 and 18 on each side thereof. By way of example, the panel dimensions may be 9 feet by 9 feet with a thickness of 2% inches, and with the skins each being 0.080 inch thick aluminum. The sides of each panel 14 are provided with metallic locking edges 19, and edges 19 on adjacent panels are locked together with a plurality of keys 21 and a shear block 20. By way of example, a pair of adjacent deck panels 14 might be locked with six keys 21 and one shear block 20. Shear block 20 is maintained in position by its own weight and can be readily removed and then keys 21 can be moved, one at a time, to the position formerly occupied by shear block 20, and then removed. When adjacent panels are keyed together, moment forces as well as tension, compression and shear forces can be carried across the joints. This locking arrangement makes the entire top surface function as if it were one large integral, continuous panel. As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the outer edges of the outside rows of panels 14 are anchored by cables 22 which are attached to fan patches 23.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is shown means for attaching adjacent floor beams 13 together. Three-ply tire cord fabric 24 is attached to the bottom and top surface of each floor beam 13 and the tire cord fabric 24 is provided with loops 25 through which a metallic rod 26 is threaded. By way of example, floor beams 13 might be 27 feet square, with a depth of 12 feet, and side modules 28 and corner modules 29 are provided to complete the assembly. Fan patches 23 are attached to these side modules 28 and corner modules 29 and floor panels 14 are attached by cables 22 to fan patches 23.

As best shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings, a beaded portion 31 is provided at the top of each flotation column l5 and this beaded portion 31 is clamped to a bearing plate 32 which is positioned beneath a floor beam 13. Loads are transferred from floor beams 13 through bearing plates 32 to the flotation columns 15. By way of example, flotation columns 15 might be 8 feet in diameter and feet in length and means are provided for supplying air and water to the inside of flotation columns 15. The primary function of flotation columns 15 is that of furnishing buoyant support of the floor beams, as well as everything that the floor beams support. A second function of flotation columns 15 is to provide attenuation of the forces of waves by reaching deep into the sea. By way of example, if flotation columns 15 are filled with water 93 feet deep, the bottoms of floor beams 13 will be positioned about 25 feet above the surface of the sea. As shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, an array of straps 33 is bonded to each flotation column 15 and bracing cables 34 are provided between the array of straps 33 and bearing plates 32. Additional cables are also fastened between flotation columns 15 and fan patches 35 which are attached to side module beams 28.

We claim:

1. An inflatable floating island for use in deep water comprising,

a plurality of inflatable floor beams, each inflatable floor beam having a plurality of loops around the periphery thereof,

a plurality of rods, one each of said rods passing through loops of adjacent inflatable floor beams to pivotally connect said inflatable floor beams one to another,

a plurality of deck panels positioned on top of said inflatable floor beams,

a plurality of keys rigidly joining adjacent deck panels to form a deck which function as one single panel, and

a plurality of inflatable flotation columns, one said flotation column supporting each said inflatable floor beam above the water level in which said inflatable floating island is floated.

2. An inflatable floating island as set forth in claim 1 wherein said flotation columns are cylindrical and wherein said flotation columns are positioned with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the surface of the water in which said island is floated.

3. An inflatable floating island as set forth in claim 1 having water in said flotation columns serving to stabilize said floating island.

4. An inflatable floating island as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cylindrical flotation columns have a length at least fifteen times greater than the dimension of their diameter. 

1. An inflatable floating island for use in deep water comprising, a plurality of inflatable floor beams, each inflatable floor beam having a plurality of loops around the periphery thereof, a plurality of rods, one each of said rods passing through loops of adjacent inflatable floor beams to pivotally connect said inflatable floor beams one to another, a plurality of deck panels positioned on top of said inflatable floor beams, a plurality of keys rigidly joining adjacent deck panels to form a deck which function as one single panel, and a plurality of inflatable flotation columns, one said flotation column supporting each said inflatable floor beam above the water level in which said inflatable floating island is floated.
 2. An inflatable floating island as set forth in claim 1 wherein said flotation columns are cylindrical and wherein said flotation columns are positioned with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the surface of the water in which said island is floated.
 3. An inflatable floating island as set forth in claim 1 having water in said flotation columns serving to stabilize said floating island.
 4. An inflatable floating island as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cylindrical flotation columns have a length at least fifteen times greater than the dimension of their diameter. 